An amature woodworker who works as a data analytics consultant

Harvey Ellis saw till part 4 – through tenons

This is my first post from the mobile app so apologies for any errors. Last night I started cutting the through tenons for the divider between the drawer and the saw till. First I placed the two sides together and marked the top and bottom of the divider on both front edges at once; then I scribed the top and bottom edges on both in the inside and outside faces using a marking knife and a combination square. Then I marked the edges of the mortise using a wheel cutting gauge from both the front and back edge, ensuring everything was centered.

Next I drilled out the center of each mortice with a half inch auger bit, starting on the outside face until the screw just barely broke through (10 full revolutions for me).

Then flip the board over and finish the holes from the other side to avoid blowout.

Then I chopped halfway through the mortice then flipped it over and finished the other side.
Not bad, just five more to go.

Thanks, hopefully the second set of three tenons comes out as nice. This pine is pretty brittle compared to the air dried Douglas fir I usually use. I ended up stropping the chisel after each mortice and re-honed between sets.